Networking plays an important part in a career in development. Connecting with other people can provide opportunities for personal and career growth. In this episode we talk with Chris Free (@chrisfree), Partner and Creative Director of Chromatic, about the value of being able to network with other people. Chris shares how his career is partly the result of the people he has surronded himself with and how it has benefited his own growth. We discuss why networking with others is vital, the values and opportunities it provides, and go over a few methods for building those personal connections.

Key Takeaways

Careers are not built in a vacuum, they rely on other people.

Attend conferences, meetups and development events to find others who share your passion.

Talking with others can be challenging, start by emulating someone you know who is good at it.

Previous Episodes Mentioned

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Many developers forget to take a step back from what they are developing to ask the important question of "Why?". In this episode we talk about why knowing the goals of your project allow you to deliver the correct product and results. Further we discuss how that allows you to deliver value to your clients and your development career. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/34

A career in development if full of challenges. However it can be easy to slip into a cycle of development stagnation, approaching every problem the same way, with the same tools. In this episode we talk about the values of finding ways to challenge yourself as a developer and how it helps you grow in your career. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/33

Your development career is not an isolated part of your life. In this episode we talk about why it is important to maintain balance in your life as a developer. Going beyond beyond "work/life" to maintain a "Happy place" that allows you to be the best developer and self that you can be. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/32

Technical leadership is not a specific role, it is a mindset. In this episode we explore the traits and behaviors that make for great technical leaders. No matter your development role or experience you have the opportunity to embody these traits to grow your development career. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/31

Development is full of complexities and challenges. Because of this, it can be difficult to maintain confidence in your development abilities. Int his episode we discuss the five different types of Imposter Syndrome. Outline causes, effects and methods for how to overcome as a developer. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/30

The users who interact with our code and the people we work with experience the world different then we do. For our work and careers to be successful, we need to be able to view our work from these varied perspectives. In todays episode we talk with Carie Fisher about applying different perspectives to development. Show notes for this episode are available at http://www.developingup.com/29

Development is about building solutions to solve problems. But when developing solutions, do you need to build everything yourself? In this episode we discuss why it is part of your job as a developer to know when to reuse existing solutions and the benefits of doing so. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/28

The only way to grow and progress in your development career is to be constantly learning. In this episode we talk about why learning is an essential tool for growing in your development career. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/27

Development is not just an activity, it is a state of mind. In this episode we discuss how effective mindsets help you in approaching your development projects and your development career. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/26

An important part of your development career is understanding when and how to take risks. In this episode we discuss why it is important to take risks as a developer, the two types of risks you'll face and how to balance risk with reward in development. Show notes for this episode can be found at http://www.developingup.com/25